This article is about a very popular subject and that’s ‘Touker Suleyman Net Worth’. He’s on of my favourite Dragons on Dragons Den. Although a straight talker like all Dragons, he always seems fair. It seems as though he sometimes likes to support the slightly unusual or perhaps the underdog.

But in addition to Touker Suleyman Net worth, I will be looking at this Dragons Den entrepreneur Touker Suleyman Leadership style too.

Dragons Den Touker Suleyman’s career started out as an accountant

He started his career quite early as an accountant. Suleyman quit this job to join the retail business, which helped to build Touker Suleyman’s net worth.

At the age of 18, he had made his mark with Kingsland Models, his own manufacturing company. As part of the business, he was making clothes for leading brands like Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Marks & Spencer.

With varied business interests in fashion, manufacturing and investment in start up businesses, he has managed to grow a successful empire from scratch, which is evident from Touker Suleyman net worth now.

Dragons Den Touker Suleyman: “Do not let the challenges get the better of you.”

His leadership skills have long been the talk of the town and are definitely something to learn from for all the emerging startups.

Touker Suleyman net worth…

Touker Suleyman’s net worth is over $150 million now. Yet he had to face quite a few burns on his way up.

In the 80s, he had invested in Bamber Stores. This was based on advice from a stockbroker, and did so without proper due diligence on his part. This resulted in a huge loss, which ended up with Mr. Suleyman resigning from his clothing business Mellins.

This was his first unsuccessful investment and the first big one too.

In fact the papers wrote about how this bad investment had wiped him out completely, and they never expected him to rise again.

Dragons Den Touker Suleyman proves everyone wrong…

And yet he proved everyone wrong. He never gave up his ambitions or his career. He always faced his challenges head on, which is what makes him a great and inspiring leader and entrepreneur.

Touker Suleyman leadership style: “Not to trust everything and due diligence is very important”

When Bamber stores went under, he also needed a cash influx in Mellins, which was promised by the then highly successful Asil Nadir (who was later part of a fraud trial).

However, that deal didn’t go through at the last minute. Touker Suleyman was left stranded without any idea on how to move forward. He had to give up everything he had worked for.
As he recollects the incident, he mentions that the experience was quite traumatic and it taught him to be sparing with trust and that due diligence is very important. If now, you look at the way he leads his business, you can see that there is no stone left un-turned, before making a decision.

He started modestly speaking hardly any English…

Hailing from Cyprus, Suleyman left the country in 1958. He was merely five years old, and left with his family during the nation’s independence struggle. His family shifted to Camberwell where they were living modestly.

When Suleyman started schooling he could hardly speak any English. And yet history had seen him achieve eight O level’s during his secondary school education.

Later on, he came to be one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the history of the fashion industry. The journey Touker Suleyman’s current net worth is definitely an inspiring story to read. Seeing a migrant rising up to a millionaire.

Touker Suleyman Leadership style: “Life is all about wanting change; you take action, and you get results.”

Manufacturing women’s clothing…

Touker Suleyman – clothes manufacturing

After the failure with the Bamber store investments, Touker Suleyman had to start again from scratch. But he was ready for the change and started out with Low Profile Holdings, manufacturing women’s clothing for retail stores in Georgia, Bulgaria and Turkey, together with his brother.

When the famous brand Hawes & Curtis went into debt for nearly £500,000, he rescued the company with his brother. This decision has definitely turned out to be a fruitful one to them both so far.

He had to initially run the business carefully, but in the end managed to build a huge empire in a matter of a few years. The brand is now not just into shirts, but has expanded over time into jackets, knitwear and suits, evolving with changing times. It is unbelievable that he bought the company for just £1.

“The best deal I’ve ever done in my life is Hawes and Curtis when I bought it for a pound, but I hope that’s not my last deal.” Touker Suleyman

Ghost was another retailer, which was rescued by Suleyman. This was relaunched by him in 2012, and has been a leading brand in Women’s fashion wear ever since.

Touker Suleyman believes people should be adaptable to changing conditions…

In his opinion, people should be adaptable to changing conditions in the market to attain success. He has proved this time and again through his various investments and business ventures. With the ‘Touker Suleyman net worth’ standing testimony to his hard work.

Touker Suleyman Leadership style: “Be passionate in your work and remember that success is only part of the journey.”

Touker Suleyman has now been in the fashion industry for more than 4 decades. But it was only recent years that he came into the limelight. He has always maintained a low profile in his line of work, as you can see from the name of one of his company Low Profile holdings. But there has never been a drop in the passion he has for hard work.

In his words, “I’m always asking myself where I want to be in three or five years’ time. I certainly don’t see myself stopping working.”

While he has definitely confirmed that he may not be as active as yesteryear’s, he has plans ready to expand his brand Hawes & Curtis to international markets. He’s also transforming Ghost into a high end brand. He takes every success in equal stride, as any failure of his, as a part of his journey. And he advises the same to all his colleagues and fellow workers.

But he has made it quite clear, that he will not be running these businesses for them. He’ll only provide them with the necessary foundations to build on their own. In addition to helping them with the seed capital they need, he even provides them with office space in his own building. Meaning that the entrepreneurs he invests with can focus on their core business.

However, according to him, the entrepreneurs that appeared on Dragons Den who started these businesses, need to have that drive in them to succeed, without which all this assistance will not bear fruit.

Suleyman’s leadership style is to be watchful of the people…

Suleyman’s leadership style has been to be quite watchful of the people and how they elucidate their future plans. He makes his move accordingly. He has already made investments in a variety of start-ups, like Huxley & Cox- a handbag manufacturer, Bike Soup- a bicycle marketplace, etc.

His recent interest in Timberkits, where he bought 30% of its stake, speaks volumes on this approach. He clearly mentions that whilst the sector itself is new and lacks competition, he was more motivated by the owners of the business (Phil Wilson and Sarah Reast) who run it.
“I wanted to get a feel of investing outside of my comfort zone … But most of all I like Sarah, and that’s what you back first; the people that run it.”

Following traditional practices is good, but fashion it to meet your business goals…

According to him, there is nothing wrong in following the traditional practices. But as far as you can, refashion it to match your own business goals. In fact, many businesses have striven and been successful by simply making a better deal out of traditional business practices.
As part of his expansion plan, Suleyman has already initiated the plan through the appointment of an agent to survey the markets in the US. This way he will understand the best ways to explore this market to their best advantage. This is part of the process to understand the competitors and what works well, so that he can formulate a better plan for his business.

Touker Suleyman a doting father

Touker Suleyman is a doting father of two daughters. He loves spending his spare time with them. Suleyman ‘Gives Back. He has been part of the Prince’s trust and an ambassador for charity organizations like Retail Trust and WellChild.

Touker Suleyman Leadership Style – Touker Suleyman Facts

Having had some tough times and a bit of a roller coaster ride, Suleyman has always believed in responsible businesses and has supported them wholeheartedly. Touker Suleyman has always been a firm believer in helping others grow and lives by his belief.
Touker Suleyman has said “Use your trust sparingly, be passionate about what you do, enjoy the change and know what others are doing in order to be a successful entrepreneur.”

Quick Dragons Den Touker Suleyman facts…

He rescued two businesses from administration…Hawes & Curtis acquired for just £1, but now with a turnover in excess of £21 million…these lead to the ‘Touker Suleyman Net Worth’ of today.

He has invested in a number of startups… Bike Soup, Intelligent Futures, Huxley and Cox.

Touker Suleyman is a Migrant, originating from Northern Cyprus.

He has 8 O levels from his school education

His career began as an accountant.

He has experienced failure in business…Bamber Stores, which later went into liquidation.

He has rented his home out to David Beckham – his home is a James Bond Style house.

Touker Suleyman believes in charity giving…he’s been a part of the Prince’s Trust and an Ambassador of WellChild and Retail Trust.

He is a father and has two daughters.

Touker Suleyman quotes…

As with my other articles on successful entrepreneurs, I wanted to leave you with a couple of Touker Suleyman quotes. The first one is something I’ve learnt the hard way myself in business and that involves cash and cash flow:

“From experience: Cash is King…without having money in the bank, money that can pay the bills, money that can run your business, you haven’t got a business.”

“Hard work, passion and loving what you do. If you don’t love what you do, you might as well give up.”

When asked about his biggest mistakes, it is where he hasn’t followed his gut…that good old feeling that we often times don’t listen to.

“Where I’ve made my mistakes is where I haven’t gone with my gut feeling. I’ve gone with no due diligence, I’ve bought a business and all the figures were fraudulent, and I realise that was the biggest mistake of my life.”

This quote shows the human side of this dragon entrepreneur, which is what comes across on Dragons Den and why I like him in particular.

“The toughest decision I made was when I made people redundant when things were difficult. When you’ve got to make somebody redundant and you know they are good people, but the business mathematics don’t add up, that’s tough.”